Monthly Archives: August 2021

national news

Officer reveals himself

Now we know the name of the Capitol Police officer who shot Ashli Babbitt during the 1/6 insurrection.

His name is Michael Byrd, a lieutenant with the Capitol Police force.

Lt. Byrd is a hero. He stopped a woman who was trying to break through a door during the hottest moments of the riot. He fired a single shot at her. Babbitt died that day.

Now we also hear from Byrd himself that he has been the target of death threats, racist attacks (he is African-American), and has been called a “murderer” by the 45th president of the United States, in whose name the terrorists attacked the Capitol Building on 1/6.

Byrd spoke to NBC News anchor Lester Holt. He felt he wanted to reveal his identity to put to rest some semblance of the mystery surrounding the shooting of Babbitt.

I feel the need to mention three things about Babbitt. She was an Air Force veteran. She also was an ardent supporter of the 45th POTUS and a believer in the QAnon conspiracy insanity that drives so many of those who adhere to the cult of personality associated with the former Insurrectionist in Chief.

Babbitt was not “murdered” by Lt. Byrd. He was doing his job, which was to protect members of Congress against the angry mob that sought to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The most shameful consequence of all of this, of course, is the Republican lawmakers’ refusal to grant Congressional Gold Medals to the law enforcement heroes who stood in harm’s way to protect them.

One hero is Michael Byrd.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news

Terror group assumes new ID

The new No. 1 terrorist enemy of this nation — apart from the domestic goons who want to overturn an election — has morphed into a version of an old enemy.

The Islamic State today claimed credit for two explosions at Kabul’s airport in Afghanistan. Thirteen U.S. service personnel died in the blasts. I understand 12 of them were Marines; one of them was a Navy corpsman.

This nation is in the midst of an evacuation of U.S. citizens and Afghan allies who aided us during the two decades we fought the terrorists.

Now comes a group called ISIS-K, an offshoot of the monstrous ISIS. ISIS=K is thought to be an enemy of the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalists who are taking control of Afghanistan as our forces get set to leave.

President Biden spoke strongly, earnestly and with outward conviction. Those who are responsible for the act today — one of the deadliest in the entire Afghan War — should understand that “we will hunt you down and make you pay,” Biden said.

Well, the last time we made that pledge — after the 9/11 attacks — we made good on it with the SEAL/CIA commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May 2011.

I doubt seriously it will take us a decade to find the monsters who did this deed and “make them pay.”

I cannot know this for certain, but I am willing to lay down the wager of a lifetime that President Biden today got on the phone with Army Gen. Richard Clarke, the head of our special operations command, and delivered the order to hunt down the ISIS-K terrorists … and take them out.

But … first things first. Our crack intelligence team needs to find these creatures; it needs to confirm their location; then the strike needs to be planned and then executed.

My heart is broken today as we mourn the deaths of our service personnel. It does, though, appear to give credence to President Biden’s insistence that we exit the battlefield in just a few days. He said he feared terrorist attacks on our forces the longer we stay in the country.

Well, it happened.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news

Hit ’em hard, Mr. POTUS

President Biden no doubt is weighing his options on how to respond to the suicide attack at Kabul airport today.

Here’s a bit of advice from the peanut gallery, Mr. President.

If you know the Islamic State did it with a suicide bomber igniting the explosive that killed four of our precious Marines along with about 60 Afghans, then find out where they’re holed up and blast them to smithereens. 

It’s just me, Mr. President. I don’t have a dog in that fight, other than being a concerned American patriot waiting anxiously for the end of our evacuation effort to arrive.

The president has a crack national security team and an equally expert team of intelligence gatherers who are combing the region for clues as to where ISIS cowards are hiding.

I just hope that when we find them, we’ll send them to the gates of hell where they belong.

My heart is broken for he lives lost, especially those brave Marines who gave their last full measure of devotion. I also am in the mood for vengeance against the monster who did this dastardly deed.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

education news, Uncategorized

Teachers deserve our honor and respect

My wife and I live one block from an elementary school in Princeton, Texas and each day when we take our stroll through the ‘hood, we see evidence of great things happening with the children who go there each day.

I want to salute the men and women who serve those children, their parents and, yes, the rest of us who don’t have kids attending that particular school or even in the school district where we live. What I witness often are teachers interacting joyfully with their students, who interact with equal amounts of joy with the teachers.

I know it’s a little thing. Then again, it’s not so little, particularly if the child gets too little joy when he or she goes home at the end of the day.

Some years ago I took a turn as a substitute teacher in Amarillo, where my wife and I lived before we relocated to Princeton. It was an eye-opening experience for me. I learned one thing about myself right away from that stint: I am not wired to teach children. 

More to the point is that I am not wired to take the abuse that kids dish out to subs who fill in for the regular teachers. Yes, I got a form of abuse from those kids. They were high schoolers. I won’t tell you which high school; just know that it was one of the public HS’s in Amarillo.

I am not casting aspersions on a particular generation of children, or on the community where we lived, or on the school system. It’s just the way it is and the way it has always been since the beginning of recorded human history. Kids look for ways to game the system in their favor. Their “victims” are their elders. I did some of it myself when I was that age.

My experience as a substitute teacher filled me with admiration for those who choose that profession. I also am amazed at those full-time substitute teachers who answer the call to report for work wherever the school district needs them.

The good ones are among the most special human beings I can imagine.

I salute you.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

House panel gets to work

U.S. House Select Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson is a serious man.

The Mississippi Democrat is so serious that he has decided to go for the jugular in his panel’s search for the why, how and wherefore of the 1/6 insurrection incited by the then-president of the United States of America.

The scope of the documents he is seeking is breathtaking.

He wants to know what POTUS 45 allegedly did to keep a grip on power after he lost the 2020 election to President Biden. He has seeking documents from the National Archives, the Pentagon, the White House, the ex-POTUS’s lawyers.

We all know what happened on 1/6. The former president encouraged an angry mob of terrorists to take back the government. They went to Capitol Hill shouting their desire to fulfill the former POTUS’s wishes.

This investigation in truth should be handled by an independent commission. The Senate Republican caucus blocked that event from occurring. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chose the select panel and gave the chairman’s gavel to Rep. Thompson.

I wish the chairman well — along with the rest of the select panel — as they take the deep dive into what the hell happened that day and  as they search for recommendations to keep such a horrific act from ever recurring.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news

Evac plans proceeding quickly

Given the intensity of the criticism being leveled at President Biden over his decision to pull out of Afghanistan, I am going to sound a little like a lonely voice in the void.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today that about 1,500 U.S. citizens remain in Afghanistan. He said that the United States has flown more than 80,000 evacuees out of the country as the Taliban have cemented their hold on the government.

One thousand five hundred! Hmm. Does that sound like an evac plan that has failed? It does not to me.

US says about 1,500 citizens remain in Afghanistan | TheHill

To be sure, if I were king of the world I would have wanted Joe Biden to extend the evacuation deadline a bit past the Aug. 31 date he set when he announced our withdrawal. Our allies around the world want us to extend it. President Biden is adamant that the deadline will hold … although he is leaving just a touch of wiggle room to extend it if circumstances demand it. His concern is of attacks from the Taliban and Islamic State terrorists on our troops providing security at Kabul’s airport.

I am not the world king. Then again, neither is President Biden, although he is the leader of the world’s most powerful nation and commander in chief of the greatest military machine ever assembled. He knows what he faces if he doesn’t deliver on his pledge to get everyone out of there “who wants to leave.”

Yes, the evacuation plan should have been lined out chapter and verse long before the president gave the pull-out order. However, the administration appears — at least to my eyes — set to deliver on its pledge to get our citizens and our allies out of harm’s way.

None of this will stop the critics. The nature of politics and policy these days is to grab onto the largest bullhorn one can find and shout at the top of one’s lungs about all you see going wrong.

The critics will have their say. I believe they will be mistaken.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Still standing with POTUS

If my phone were to ring and I discovered it was a public opinion pollster, I would answer it and hope that the voice on the other end would ask me my view on the job President Biden is doing.

Do I favor or oppose how he is leading the country?

My answer: Yes … I would give him a favorable rating.

Those who disagree with that view, too bad. I’m sorry you feel the way you do. I make no apologies for feeling as I do about the job President Biden is doing while he leads this country through a global pandemic, seeks to repair the wreckage left by his predecessor and, oh yeah, withdraw our troops and our allies from Afghanistan.

I believe I said during POTUS 45’s term in office that there was nothing on Earth I could picture him doing that would make me think favorably of the job he did.

Conversely, I try to consider what President Biden could do to turn me against the job he is doing. One thing pops out immediately: sending in brigades of fighting forces back into Afghanistan … for starters. Yep, that would do it. So would reneging on his commitment to fighting climate change.

The Afghan War withdrawal surely could have been executed more smoothly. Then again, this country has zero record of ending conflicts cleanly that it has not won outright. The Vietnam War didn’t end the way anyone in this country wanted it to end. Even though our side won virtually all the battlefield encounters with the communists during that bloody war, we lost the political will to keep fighting.

The North Vietnamese army rolled into Saigon, took control of the government, renamed the city after Uncle Ho and the United States was left with trying to explain how it could leave all those allies behind.

President Biden’s national security team is working as near as I can tell to conduct a withdrawal of many thousands of Americans and Afghan allies. The Biden team is actually working — reportedly — with the Taliban to ensure a reasonably safe outcome.

I am not going to turn my back on the president — at least not yet.

Pollsters, if you’re out there, give me a shout. I’ll be glad to answer your questions and give President Joe Biden a thumbs-up on the job he is doing.

— johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

medical news

Paying folks to protect themselves? Really?

It has come down to this? Holy cow, man!

Texas’s most populous county has been paying residents $100 if they line up to get a shot to protect themselves — and their loved ones — against the COVID-19 virus. Yep, that’s how it’s going down yonder in Harris County.

Never would I have imagined a worldwide health pandemic would devolve into a payment plan to entice those who were reluctant to get vaccinated against a disease that could kill them.

Here is what the Texas Tribune is reporting:

A week after public health officials in Texas’ most populous county started handing out $100 cash cards to locals getting their first COVID-19 shot, the number of daily vaccinations has shot up to six times its previous rate, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Tuesday.

“We had an inkling that something was going right when I started my announcement [about the incentive] at noon, and by the time I was done, 30 minutes later, there was a line of cars waiting to receive the vaccine,” Hidalgo said. “We haven’t seen those lines for months.”

COVID-19 vaccines increase in Harris County following cash incentive | The Texas Tribune

Wow. You know, this is a consequence of the politicization of a vaccination campaign that never — not ever! — should have devolved into this partisan political game of gotcha!

It’s good, I reckon, that Harris County has enough money to throw around at those willing to receive a life-saving vaccine. I’ll give County Judge Hidalgo credit for taking the lead on this effort.

What’s more, it has produced results, as the Tribune reported, with vaccinations skyrocketing.

It’s just part of what I hope is a trend we will see accelerate as more people realize that the vaccines are effective and, of course, safe. The Food and Drug Administration this week approved the Pfizer vaccine, giving its unqualified go-ahead to anyone who had been  reluctant to get the shot to proceed to their nearest pharmacy or doctor’s office to be inoculated.

President Biden went on TV to declare that era of excuses is over. “Get vaccinated today,” he implored us. Hey, you’re preaching to choir in our house, Mr. President; my bride and I got our shots in February … both of ’em!

Still, I am astounded that some officials are doling out money to lure reluctant folks to do what is right — and what is sane!

— johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

entertainment news

Oh, Charlie could play the drums

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

I am entering a state of mourning over the news I have just received.

Charlie Watts, a serious rock ‘n roll legend, has died at the age of 80.

Those of us of a certain age grew up with Charlie and his band mates. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Rolling Stones. Even though The Beatles were my favorite band while I was growing up, I also grew to love the Stones.

Charlie and his pals – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, the late Brian Jones and Bill Wyman – set the table nicely for a lot of us as they rocked out hard. Jones died tragically; he was replaced for a time by Mick Taylor, who then was succeeded by Ronnie Wood. Wyman, the bassist, retired and the Stones never have officially “replaced” Wyman with a fifth band member.

But Charlie kept the beat. He did so without a lot of flash. Nor with what I would call a lot of “rock ‘n roll faces.”

He just played them drums, man.

Charlie was thought to be a reluctant rock star. He didn’t make a lot of headlines the way, oh, Jagger and Richards have done over many decades. Charlie was married to the same woman for more than 50 years. As near as I can tell, he didn’t partake in a lot of the hot-blooded nonsense normally associated with the Rolling Stones.

He just played the drums.

I have attended one Rolling Stones concert. That was in 1994 at the Cotton Bowl at the Dallas Fairgrounds. My son procured two tickets. We had seats on the floor of the stadium about 30 rows back from the stage. I want to relate a brief tale about the setup of that show that tells you a bit about what Charlie Watts meant to those of us who enjoyed watching and listening to the Rolling Stones.

Bryan Adams was one of the opening acts. Adams performed all of his hits. He rocked the stadium hard. His drummer sat behind this monstrous set containing all kinds of percussion instruments: various drums, chimes, cymbals … all that stuff. When the Adams set finished, the stage crew rolled the drummer’s set off the stage.

Then they brought out Charlie’s drum set. If memory serves, it had a snare, a tom and a base, along with two cymbals and a “high-hat.” That’s it, man! The crowd wanted to see Charlie play the drums. We didn’t want to just hear him as he sat behind some monstrous percussion assembly … right?

After a few minutes, the stage went dark, it filled with smoke and then we could hear the drums starting to pound.

The lights came back on and there was Charlie – along with the rest of the Stones – launching into “Not A Fade Away,” one of the Stones’ earliest hits.

Charlie could play them drums. I will miss him terribly.

Note: This blog was published initially on KETR.org.

national news

Impeachment? Really, guys?

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Congressional Republicans are looking for payback.

Given that the guy who ran for president under their party got impeached twice, they want to impeach President Biden if he doesn’t get all Americans and our allies out of Afghanistan, which has been taken over by the notorious Taliban terrorist group.

It’s looking as though the president might be able to head off any idiotic impeachment effort. American airplanes are ferrying Americans and Afghan allies out of Kabul at an accelerating rate.

At last count, more than 40,000 of them have been evacuated.

Sen. Lindsey Graham said Biden will commit a “high crime and misdemeanor” if he leaves any American behind. Rep. Pat Fallon of Sherman, Texas — speaking to a town hall crowd in Rockwall the other day — said all House members should draft impeachment articles if Biden’s evacuation order falls short.

I thought Graham and Biden were pals. Not so with Fallon, a right-wing fire-breather who just joined Congress this year.

The 45th POTUS got impeached for two valid reasons: the first time for soliciting a political favor from a foreign head of state; the second time for inciting the insurrection on 1/6.

Joe Biden does not deserve to be impeached. This is a non-call.